In a nutshell
In a quarterly update Nov. 13, demographer Bob Templeton shared projections for enrollment over the next decade, showing the district could add 6,181 students to its roll by the 2033-34 school year based on new housing projects planned for the area.
This comes as GISD Superintendent Devin Padavil said the district is at a critical point to prepare for growth. Another recent demographic update shows seven campuses in the district are at or near capacity.
Put in perspective
At present, Templeton said Georgetown is experiencing a "tale of two cities" between new and existing homes, with the latter experiencing some difficulty due to rising interest rates.
"Low inventory in the existing market is leading to pretty steady, consistent growth in the new housing market but a little bit of a cloudiness that's due to the rising interest rates [and] high inflation," Templeton said.
He also said the district added more than 274 students to its population from 2022-23 to 2023-24. However, upcoming changes to the local educational landscape could muddy yearly projections, he said. While the district is projected to add 505 students in the 2024-25 school year, homeschool and charter options can change that number.
"As long as we are seeing this—1,600 to 1,700 homes closed—your enrollment should be growing at about 3% to 4% each year," Templeton said. "There is a charter school that we are watching. They have not broken ground as of yet. ... It's not going to pull all of its kids from Georgetown. It'll likely be pulling from Round Rock. It will have an impact to some degree. We'll want to time that and understand when it's going to become operational of course at the campus level."
